The reception to the gold medal winning U.S. Women’s Soccer team has been awesome. U.S. Soccer decided that in order to honor those fans, they would plan what they are calling a “Fan Appreciation Tour”.

Abby Wambach warming up before the Costa Rica game in Rochester on September 1.

The first stop on that tour was Abby Wambach’s hometown of Rochester, New York and I had the chance to go. They played the Costa Rica team and won 8-0 wth 2 goals from Wambach, 2 goals from Rapinoe, 1 goal from Alex Morgan, 1 goal from Sydney Leroux, 1 goal from Olympic hot-shot Carli Lloyd and 1 goal from Heather O’Reilly. Who played the best? I would say Abby Wambach was there to please her hometown and Rapinoe was in her regular form.

After the game we headed over to check out the Wambach family bar owned bar & grill, Back Nine Grill. It was fun and the food was delicious!

Please ignore my terribly sunburned face…

A Little Bit of Sad News…

In very, very strange timing U.S. Soccer announced that head coach Pia Sundhage is resigning and heading home to Sweden. Her last game as head coach will be September 16 (see schedule below). Sundhage has such a huge personality and presence that demands respect from the players and fans.

So, what did she do over the last few years? Julie Foudy truly outlines her success in this espnW article but here’s a few things: two Olympic gold medals, one Women’s World Cup final appearance and only six losses overall, could you ask for more?

She will be missed and I really hope they find someone that is just as wonderful. Pia said goodbye is the only way she knows how to: singing how she feels.